Common mistakes in English – Confused words (Part 5)

Nouns often confused

Take care not to say my house, his house or your house when you should say home. A house is any building used for dwelling in and home is the particular house in which someone is living.

Note:Home may also denote ore’s own country. When an Englishman abroad says “I’m going home this summer.” he means going to England.

490. Story and History

(a) Story

Don’t say: She told me an interesting history.

√ Say: She told me an interesting story.

(b) History

Don’t say: We study the story of the Romans.

√ Say: We study the history of the Romans.

A story is an account of events which may or may not be true.

History is a systematic record of past events.

491. Habit and Custom

(a) Habit

Don’t say: Telling lies is a very bad custom.

√ Say: Telling lies is a very bad habit.

(b) Custom

Don’t say: The Chinese have strange habits.

√ Say: The Chinese have strange customs.

A habit belongs to the individual, but a custom belongs to a society or country.

492. Cause of and Reason for

(a) Cause of

Don’t say: What’s the reason for a sandstorm?

√ Say: Whats the cause of a sandstorm?

(b) Reason for

Don’t say: You have a good cause of coming.

√ Say You have a good reason for corning.

A cause is that which produces a result.

A reason is that which explains or justifies a result.

493. Scene and Scenery

(a) Scene

Don’t say: The TV crew arrived at the scenery.

√ Say: The TV crew arrived at the scene.

(b) Scenery

Don’t say: The scene in Cyprus is beautiful.

√ Say: The scenery in Cyprus is beautiful.

A scene refers to one particular place, while scenery refers to the general appearance of the country. We don’t use scenery in the plural.

494. Centre and Middle

(a) Centre

Don’t say: Stand m the middle of the circle.

√ Say: Stand in the centre of the circle.

(b) Middle

Don’t say: He was in the centre of the street.

√ Say: He was in the middle of the street.

Centre is the point that equidistant from the edge of a circle.

Middle is the area equidistant from two sides middle of the road, middle of the room, middle of the page, etc.

495. Shade or Shadow

(a) Shade

Don’t say: I like to sit in the shadow.

√ Say: I like to sit in the shade.

(b) Shadow

Don’t say: The dog saw his shade in the water.

√ Say: The dog saw his shadow in the water.

Shade is a place sheltered from the sun.

Shadow is a shade of a distinct for as of a tree, a man, a dog, etc.

496. Customer and Client

(a) Customer

Don’t say: That grocer has plenty of clients.

√ Say: That grocer has plenty of customers.

(b) Client

Don’t say: That lawyer has plenty of customers.

√ Say: That lawyer has plenty of clients.

A person can be a customer at a shop, but a client of a lawyer, a bank, etc.

497. Stranger for Guest

Don’t say:They had some strangers last night.

√ Say: They had some guests last night.

A guest is usually a friend who comes to our house for a visit, while a stranger is a person unknown to us.

Note:A foreigner is a person from another country and speaking a foreign language.

498. Travel for Journey

Don’t say: Our travel to Wales was lovely.

√ Say: Our journey to Wales was lovely.

Travel is a verb, used to describe any type of movement from one place to another.

Journey is the noun but we also use (take a) trip for having a short journey –> We took a trip to the seaside last Sunday. We also use travelling as a noun –> Tim loves travelling. We use a possessive pronoun with travel as an idiom –> Jenny is off on her travels again.

Note: We use the noun travel

(1) in a general sense –> She loves travel.

(2) in the plural –> He has written a book about his travels.

499. Foot for Leg

Don’t say: I hurt my foot – if the injury is anywhere above the ankle.

✓ Say: I hurt my leg.

Leg is the part of the body from the hip down to the ankle, and foot is the part below the ankle (Hand must also be carefully distinguished from arm.)

Note: The leg of a chair, a table, a bed, the foot of a hill, a wall, a ladder, a page

500. Finger for Toe

Don’t say: I hurt a finger of my right foot.

√ Say: I hurt a toe of my right foot.

Fingers are on the hand, and toes are on the foot.

501. Poetry for Poem

Don’t say: I have a poetry to learn by heart.

√ Say: I have a poem to learn by heart.

Poetry is the form of literature dealing with poems. A poem is one piece of poetry.

502. Theatre for Play

Don’t say: Sarah is going to see a theatre tonight.

√ Say: Sarah is going to see a play tonight.

A theatre is a building in which plays are acted, not the play itself.

503. Play for Game

Don’t say: They had a nice play of football.

√ Say: They had a nice game of football.

Avoid using play in the sense game.

Play means amusement –> He is fond of play.

504. Dress for Suit

Don’t say: My elder brother has a new dress.

√ Say: My elder brother has a new suit.

Only girls and women wear dresses, anyone can wear suits (a jacket with trousers or a skirt).

Clothes is a general word –> John (or Mary) is wearing new clothes.

Note:We say a man in full evening dress, or morning dress for traditional, formal clothes

505. Individual for Person/People

Don’t say: There were five individuals in the shop.

√ Say: There were five people in the shop.

Use individual with a single person as opposed to the group –> The individual must act for the good of the community.

506. Men for People

Don’t say: All the streets were full of men.

√ Say: All the streets were full of people.

Use people and not men when the reference is to human beings in general.

507. Woman for Wife

Don’t use: The man took his woman with him.

√ Say: The man took his wife with him.

In English, these two words are carefully distinguished, wife is the woman in a marriage. Both husbands and wives can be referred to as partners.

508. Cost for Price

Don’t say: What’s the cost of this watch?

√ Say: What’s the price of this watch?

Price is the amount of money paid by the customer.

Cost is the amount paid by the shopkeeper

We can say ” How much does it cost? “

Note:Value is the usefulness or importance of something –> The value of milk as a food, the value of education

Face value is the amount printed on a piece of-paper-money or on a postage stamp.

509. Air for Wind

Don’t say: The strong air blew her hat away.

√ Say: The strong wind blew her hat away.

Air is what we breathe, and wind is what makes the leaves of the trees move.

510. Ground for Floor

Don’t say: When I entered the room, I saw a book on the ground.

√ Say: When I entered the room, I saw a book on the floor.

The floor is the part of the room on which we walk.

The ground is outside the house.

511. Place for Room

Don’t say: Is there place for me on the bus?

√ Say: Is there room for me on the bus?

Don’t use place in the sense of room, which means here unoccupied space.

512. Organ for Instrument

Don’t say: What other organ can you play?

√ Say: What other instrument can you play?

The organ is a particular musical instrument used in some churches to accompany the singing of hymns.

Don’t use organ to denote any other musical instrument.

513 Appetite for Desire, etc.

Don’t say: I’ve no appetite at all to study.

√ Say: I’ve no desire at all to study.

Appetite is generally used with food. For study, work, or play we use such words as desire, disposition, and inclination.

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From these pages I hope you can maximize your IELTS score.

Thanks for dropping by IELTS General blog and we sincerely hope you soon feel at home here with us and get the IELTS score you need and deserve!